Electrical connectors are used to electrically connect electrical circuit boards which are physically spaced apart and parallel to each other. Such connectors need to provide an appropriate space between circuit boards for component positioning and cooling and yet provide for the electrical interconnection between parallel arrays of circuit boards, substrate devices or the like having a plurality of electrical conductive paths. Typically, electrical connectors were specifically designed to fit one defined space between the circuit boards, and if a different spacing was required, another connector scaled to fit that spacing was required. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,231 describes an electrical connector designed for use between spaced apart circuit boards having a single defined space between printed circuit boards assembled in parallel planes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,018 describes a unitary elastomeric electrical connector having a plurality of electrical conductors which extend beyond the connector body and are placed into compression contact when the circuit boards are assembled. European Pat. No. 0 180 284 describes an electrical connector for a printed circuit board comprising a one-piece metal shell having a plurality of spring fingers engaging the connector housing.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,346 describes a connecting element for circuit boards having a symmetrical, sinuous shape to provide a spring section for exerting a predetermined contact force. U.S. Pat. No. 3,795,037 describes an electrical connector comprising a plurality of elongated flexible conductors embedded in, and extending between, the surfaces of a block of elastomeric insulating material which biases the connectors into proper electrical connection.
If a different spacing between the circuit boards was required, a rescaled new electrical connector was designed and fabricated at considerable expense to the manufacturer. Each rescaled electrical connector required a rescaled circuit interconnection means, or electrical circuit conductor, which had to be specifically designed for a particular circuit board spacing. This required electrical connector manufacturers to maintain a large inventory of expensive electrical connectors for a variety of specific circuit board spacings and electrical circuit conductors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,199 describes an electrical connector for a small space between a pair of circuit boards having a row of contact elements with bent middle portions which nest in one another U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,413 describes a miniature electrical connector comprising a cylindrical elastomeric body having a thin non-yielding flexible circuit wrapped around the elastomeric body.
Also, mismatched electrical connectors of various spacings created problems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,626 describes a key block arrangement which prevents an electrical connector having a width greater than a predetermined size from being inserted into a circuit pack carrier.
None of the patents described above provides the important advantages of an electrical connector having adjustable spacing to electrically interconnect two parallel printed circuit boards. Unlike the prior art described above, the electrical connector of the present invention may be assembled to accommodate a range of circuit board spacings while providing electrical circuitry connection to a plurality of conductive paths by a common electrical conductor.